BAGUIO CITY – Individuals suffering from eyes, ears, nose and throat problems must immediately seek medical attention from health experts to prevent such infections from causing tuberculosis, an official of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) said here recently.
Dr. Emily Grace T. Estaris, Medical Specialist IV and head of BGHMC’s otorhinolaryngology and neck surgery department, said individuals having chronic ear discharge, nasal tumor, tongue mass and neck tumor could possibly suffer complications that will lead to tuberculosis, thus, the need for them to immediately consult health experts for them to be provided the necessary medical interventions.
While the escalation of such problems to tuberculosis remains remote, she emphasized that there is always the possibility that the said individuals will contract tuberculosis if their ear, nasal, tongue and neck problems will not be given medical attention.
“We advise individuals suffering from chronic ear discharge, nasal tumor, tongue mass and neck tumor to practice healthy lifestyle for them to prevent their illnesses from having complications that will compromise their health condition in the future,” Dr. Estaris stressed.
The BGHMC official asserted that tuberculosis is curable and the medicines that will cure the illness is also free in government health facilities that is why people should not hesitate to have their tuberculosis diagnosed.
Aside from the aforementioned problems, Dr. Estaris claimed that individuals suffering from cough for at least two weeks must already seek the advise of health experts to ascertain whether or not they are already suffering from tuberculosis.
According to her, individuals must also make sure that they protect their ears from loud sounds to prevent them from becoming deaf.
Further, she claimed that workers who are given ear plugs and ear muffs by their employers must use the same to protect their ears and guarantee their good hearing even if they work in places where there is too much noise.
Dr. Estaris disclosed common problems of individuals seeking consultations with the BGHMC is ear infection for children and difficulty of hearing for the elderly that is why people should not wait for their ear problems to worsen before seeking medical attention so that appropriate diagnosis will be given them.
She asserted illnesses are preventable if individuals adhere to the practice of healthy lifestyle which is one of the major advocacies of the health department, thus, the need for people to start reforming their lifestyles by eating the right kind of food, having enough exercise and enough sleep.
Moreover, Dr. Estaris also reminded individuals not to put in foreign objects inside their ears that might cause serious ear problems in the future considering that a person’s ear is sensitive and any damage that will be inflicted could result to an individual being deaf.
She revealed that the BGHMC remains open for consultations regarding the various illnesses that people suffer from so that they will be provided with the appropriate medication.
By HENT